Chapter II: Part 2

As these hills rise, vegetation becomes scantier. The range of mountains in which gold is found is distinguished by a uniformity of its vegetable kingdom, which is neither meagre nor very abundant. The oak predominates here, only now and then relieved by several varieties of the pine family. As the gold disappears, the reign of the pine and the granite extends. The depositories of gold look universally more smiling to the beholder than their barren neighbors; the former always have the figure described by the line of beauty, viz: the curved line, be they ever so precipitous as they frequently are; a distinction never to be lost sight of. The extent of these auriferous hills is greater than the public know or imagine, but not in the direction it is supposed. They extend beyond the Sacramento and even San Joaquin, northwest of the former and southwest of the latter, bending round the sea coast. Nay, the same formation, with more or less difference, runs along the whole Pacific shores, till it is lost in the southern portion of the Chilean republic, but gold has not been, nor probably will be found anywhere in equal abundance, as in Upper California. This abundance is much, however, exaggerated by the heated imagination of the public. It is not in the nature of placer gold to be durable long. A very few years when there will be many arms at work, will exhaust it; its origin will be the guarantee of this fact. The breadth of this auriferous region limits itself within the lines running north and south from forty to sixty miles from the ridge of the Sierra Nevada; and on the west, as the hills begin to soften into the plains.

At some remote period in the history of the globe, the same internal convulsions that heaved up the Sierra Nevada, have also upheaved the auriferous hills, which at first presented a naked surface to the atmospheric changes, by the influences of which, the quartz constantly breaking up, left free the precious metal on its surface. In the progress of time, the same atmospheric influences caused to accumulate on these hills soil which grew deeper with every decay of vegetation till it grew strong enough to support the majestic oak. The freed particles of gold thus became covered by the soil and mixed up with it, and the process of the separation of the metal from the stone was arrested. How gold was injected into the veins of quartz is more than we can say, but the fact that it was so in a liquid state, is beyond question, as we see it adapt itself to the sides of the stone in all imaginable forms, from the finest filament to the largest lump ever found, with a most varied indented surface, filling up, completely, the crack of the stone, always tending to a rounded tear-like appearance, as is the case with all melting substances. When freed, external friction of course modifies its appearance more or less; hence we find it in rivers particularly, in fine flakes, but when it is in larger bulk, it puts on plate-like appearance as if it were hammered out by the hands of an artisan--as really it is by the frequently enormous weight of stones under which it is deposited. Water, that universal carrier, washing the sides of the hills, brought the gold from their surface into the ravines and rivers, to which its own weight facilitated the process.

According to the strength of the current of water, the weight of the particles of gold, and the obstacles in the way, it is deposited in one or another spot, the lighter particles of course floating away the farthest from their original bed. As this process of gold deposition has taken place in some remote period of the earth’s existence, hence we find all these deposites, generally speaking, covered with greater or smaller depth of soil, sand, gravel and stones. Strictly speaking, gold does not belong to the rivers--it was washed into them from the hills; hence it is useless to look for gold at the head of these streams, when the neighboring hills are not of the auriferous nature; and we find this fact corroborated by our personal examination of the heads of the streams of the gold region. The same rule holds good, for the same reasons, in regard to the lower portion of a gold carrying stream, except that it is limited by the fact that light particles of gold may be deposited a considerable distance below their original source.

The mode of deposit being made clear, it will be equally clear that it is not on every spot in this very auriferous region that we must look for gold, which fact experience proves to be true; or at least it is not on every spot that we can find enough of it to make it an object to bestow our labor on it. Hence it equally follows, the limitation of the quantity of gold to be expected from the mines as a general aggregate, however rich they may prove. The first comers had the best chances to hit upon rich deposits; but as diggers multiply, the chances of falling upon virgin deposits grow smaller, and they will have to be content with what the others, through imperfection of their labor have left; consequently the work becomes more heavy and less profitable, although it may be yet sufficiently compensatory if the expenses of living be not excessive. This is precisely already the case, the labor is much harder this year than it was last. At present there are not so many of those happy hits as formerly, although we yet hear now and then of a lucky haul, which however, when it reaches the ears of the public, becomes extremely distorted, and particularly so when companies that have dammed some spots of some of the rivers wish to dispose advantageously of their shares; these easily find ready letter-writers who communicate the lucky event to the public through the press. The accounts of successful digging in gold that went abroad never have been accompanied with statements of hardships attending the process; yet we are free to confess that there is no harder labor than that of gold digging and washing; this species of labor requires the strongest sinews enured to fatigue. Peculiar localities, together with general discomfort attending upon the life in the mines, may make gold digging particularly irksome. Yet all this can be borne, and one’s labor may sometimes be crowned with a brilliant success. We have made the above statement with the view of laying the subject before those who may yet be novices in the matter, that they may understand their own case; we are far from discouraging the new aspirants after the favors of the dame fortune; we tell them, take your chance, it may be a very good one, but such and such circumstances are attending this courtship. Those from distant parts who on mere sound of the discovery of gold in California, rush head-long, sometimes leaving very good business and comfortable living, cannot but rue the day, if they put their sole dependence upon their success in the mines. If they would come here with an intention of following some patient calling, they could not but grow rich with time. We have already plenty of miners; a larger number of them only diminishes the profits of all. However, come they must, for they are bent on it, be the consequences what they may.

When this gold mania ceases to rage, individuals will abandon the mines; and then there will be a good opportunity for companies with heavy capital to step in; there will be enough of profitable work for them; and it is then that the country will enter on a career of real progress, and not till then. Such companies, with superior mechanical facilities to do much labor, in a short space, will be enabled to go over the whole mineral field, although already dug over by individuals, and reap yet a rich reward of their efforts. And when there will be no more gold washing to be done, then a new era in the mining of the country will commence--we mean a regular system of mining by sinking shafts into the very bowels of the rocks will be entered upon. Spots for this system of mining are to be found in the auriferous region. (Since our return from the mountains our statement already is farther corroborated, as we learn that Col. Fremont, who just arrived from Stockton, has also found a regular vein of gold in the rock on the river Mariposa, which he proposes to work in the regular mining fashion, as it is a very promising one we understand.)

If we had a voice in the Legislative Halls of the Union, with the knowledge of the whole country in general, and the mineral region in particular, we have--seeking to gratify no men nor set of men--we would say, divide the whole _elevated_ portion of the land enclosed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin into a set of lots to be sold to mining companies at a very moderate price. The low lands or the plains of the same region should be divided into a separate set of lots, to be sold to those only who wish to establish themselves as farmers. To avoid all difficulty and confusion in giving boundaries to these lots, we would adopt the following plan: In the mining district proper, the elevated portion of the land, every lot should have for its centre the whole extent of one of the streams that fall either into the Sacramento or San Joaquin; the lateral boundaries of these lots would be the ridges on both the north and south side, that turn the minor streams and ravines into the principal ones selected as centres of the lots. These lots, unless they are as large as this division would make them, would not be worth the having; the land is worthless for any other purpose, except mining; and if this even should fail, then the only means left for the unfortunate buyers to save themselves, would be to turn their attention to the making of turpentine, for which they would find an extensive field. The other set of lots, comprising the low lands, should have for their bases the banks of the streams that run through the plains. There should be but two lots between two neighboring streams, so that they would have the same line for their common boundary while their respective bases, would rest on their respective streams. The reason for such a division is, that the central portion of the plain lying between two streams, generally is destitute of timber and water; is exposed to the constant burning sun and scorching wind, and consequently offering no spot for a farm house. For the same reason this portion of the country admits only of a spare population, whose principal occupation must be raising of livestock, as there is plenty of grazing ground; each farmer, however, must have a bank of a river to put his residence upon. In view of these circumstances these lots should be made sufficiently large to enable the farmer to devote his attention particularly to the raising of the livestock. By this arrangement the whole country will be benefited; for the raising of livestock will be daily less attended to in the country south of San Francisco Bay, as the land there admits of smaller subdivisions for agricultural purposes. And it is there that farmers will crowd, as its climate and fertility of the soil are favorable to the maintenance of a dense population.

By the above disposition of the mineral region, we conceive the country will be greatly benefitted. The mineral region being under the sole control of mining companies will exclude all private adventurers; thus first benefiting the commerce by checking the now unavoidable desertion of the crews of its shipping, which at this very moment amounts to more than sixty thousand tons, of the finest ships in the world lying in the harbor, and nearly all of them unable to proceed on an outward voyage for want of hands on board--and secondly, preventing an influx of all sorts of adventurers into the country, whose presence is more of a nuisance than benefit to any country. Then a farming population, cured of the gold mania, will seek to enrich itself by more sure means, the product of the soil, and will crowd to the Pacific shores. The arts will take a start--every species of industry will be called into existence; the surplus capital of the commerce will be devoted to the developement of internal resources of the country; nay, even capital from abroad may find an employment here; the commerce of the country will be put on a firm footing and will grow daily and steadily. Even the government itself, thus rid of this bother of California gold, will find more leisure to do its duty to this newly acquired territory. In fine, the country will grow steadily in a permanent population, in strength of order and law; and the business of life will unavoidably fall into its natural and proper channels.

We flatter ourselves we have said enough upon the subject in hand to clear up a little, the vision of the public that suffered itself to be blinded by the brilliancy of the California gold.

As we have above referred to Mr. T. H. BENTON’S speech, delivered in the Senate of the United States, January 15, 1849, on the subject of land titles and sale of gold mines in New Mexico and California, we give a place here to his substitute for the bill then before the Senate, supposing it may be interesting to those who have not seen it. It is fortunate for California to have such a defender of her rights as the gifted Senator from Missouri. This is the substitute that defeated the bill in question:

“To recommit the bill to the Committee on Public Lands, with
instruction to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill for
ascertaining the public and unappropriated lands in the territory
of California, and for surveying and selling the same, and for
granting donations to actual settlers, and permits to work the gold
mines; and for that purpose to provide--

“FIRST. For the appointment of a recorder of land titles, who shall
have the custody of all the public archives in relation to the
disposition of the public lands, and shall record all the grants
and all claims that shall be discovered, made known to him, and
shall make two abstracts of the same, one to be sent to the General
Land Office in Washington city, the other to be delivered to the
Surveyor General of California, that he may lay down the grants and
claims on a map to be retained in his office, and of which map a
copy to be transmitted to the General Land Office, and another to
be filed with the recorder of land titles in California.

“SECOND. To provide for the ascertainment of invalid grants or
possessions, by authorizing a _scire facias_ to be issued from
the United States District Court against the party in possession
to come in and hear the objections to his claim and to show cause
why the grant should not be annulled, or the possession vacated in
every case in which the recorder of land titles, upon consultation
with the district attorney, or by orders from the General Land
Office, shall be so instructed, shall be of opinion that the same
is not valid under the treaty with Mexico, the law of nations,
and the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States--the
decisions of the district court to be final, if against the United
Stales, in all cases where the land in question shall be worth less
than five thousand dollars. But no _pueblo_ or rancheria Indians to
be disturbed in their possessions, without special orders from the
General Government.

“THIRD. To provide for the appointment of a surveyor general, and
for the establishment of three land offices.

“FOURTH. To provide for donations of land to actual settlers, heads
of families, widows, and single men over eighteen years of age, and
an allowance of land for children under eighteen years of age, and
for the wife in her own right, according to the provisions of the
bill proposing donations to the settles in Oregon, which passed the
Senate January 3, 1843.

“FIFTH. To provide for preserving order in working gold mines, by
appointing an agent to grant permits for working small lots, and
settling summarily, and on the spot, all questions of boundary or
interference among the diggers. The said permits to continue in
force while the lot is worked by the person receiving it, and to be
limited to ---- feet square.”

It is not necessary for us to offer here any comments upon this substitute for the bill above alluded to, as we have already in anticipation expressed our opinion in relation to the measures to be adopted by the Government of the Union respecting land titles and gold mines in California.

ADVICE TO THE MINER.

On arriving in California, the gold hunters, if we may be pardoned the expression, first touch the shore at San Francisco.--There they look for information how and what are the means to get the precious pelf in large quantities, that they may not stay in the country too long; if they happen to have a letter to some one in the place, or if they meet an old friend, they put a thousand questions to him faster than he is able to answer them, evidently hurried by anxiety to lose no time and opportunity. Then they will tell him about their plans, how they are going to proceed in the business, what excellent machinery they bring from New York or some other place, to work with, and so forth. The Americans, and particularly those that call themselves, or are called, Yankees _par excellence_, have the reputation of putting many questions to people they happen to fall in with; but on this occasion, they are more, even than Yankees, in pouring upon the stranger they meet, their interrogatories. Now, we propose here to benefit both parties, the _annoying_ and _annoyed_--we use the expression not to disguise the truth in obscure words as it is really the plain fact--and anticipate all such questions by suitable information, upon which they can put at least some reliance, as we are neither a merchant, a trader, or speculator in land or mines.

Neither San Francisco, the city of Sacramento nor Stockton are the places where reliable information is to be expected by one who proposes to go to the mines, as these places may be compared to the famous Dyonius’ ear, where the gentlest whisper is re-echoed a thousand times. Interest and ignorance frequently conspire in circulating extraordinary stories of success, on very slender foundation, for some never have been in the mines at all, and have not the slightest idea of them, crediting everything they hear; others have _their_ posts established on some particular spot, where, of course, the mines _must be very rich_. The trading portion of the inhabitants of these places see gold brought in in large quantities, but they never trouble themselves with how much labor it is got out, who has failed and who has succeeded; in fine, they hear only of constant success. The fact is, that while there are many who succeed, there are others who scarcely pay their expenses. This should not be withheld from the knowledge of a new comer, since in case of failure in his mining expectations, he will be somewhat prepared for such an event, and will be able to make the best of it.

The new comer, on preparing himself to start for the mines, first should know what he wants for his expedition. Many start lumbered with baggage, imagining that they cannot and must not forego the indispensable comforts of life. All baggage is a burden and heavy expense to the miner; the cost and sometimes the difficulty of transportation forbid any such commodities; and besides, it will always impede his free movement, if he should want to go from place to place. He should have absolutely nothing more than what he can carry on a beast, if he be able to have one; or if not, what he can shoulder himself. The less one brings to the mines, the better prospects of success he may have, and the more he is loaded with goods, the more probably he will lose. This is the secret why all hard working men who are inured to hard labor and strangers to enervating comforts, such as sailors and mechanics, generally do very well. The miner needs good, stout and warm clothing, just enough in quantity for a change for the sake of cleanliness--a pair of stout boots or shoes, or both, two good blankets to sleep comfortable, warm and dry; his mining tools consisting of a pick-axe, spade, spade, crowbar, a tin pan to wash gold in, a good sheath knife, iron spoon and a trowel. The pick-axe and crowbar should be of a convenient size for handling, and well steeled on the ends. A washing machine is used when there are two or more working in partnership. All the machines that have been brought here from the States are absolutely useless; they have proved profitable only to the venders there. The simple machine which here is in common use consists of three light boards three feet long and about ten inches high, put together in the shape of a cradle with two rockers underneath; the bottom board is made a little narrower; the sides on the upper edge from the middle backwards, are bevelled off two or three inches, and the same is done forwards so that the board, when looked upon from the side, presents an irregular hexagon; at the head part of the machine, on the upper edges of the boards, rests a box of boards, called a sieve or riddle, from three to five inches high, with a tin or sheet-iron perforated bottom; it is fixed, sometimes, in a manner to be taken out when necessary, sometimes on hinges to be thrown backwards when it is necessary to throw away the washed stones. The head part of the machine is well boarded; at the opposite extremity a board is likewise placed, the upper half of which is cut out in the shape of a cresent, leaving about three or four inches at the bottom of it; this opening serves for a passage of dirt, stones and water that are thrown in at the head into the sieve. It has also one or two bars or cleets across the bottom board at the distance of a foot each, and about three inches high. The perforations of the sieve or riddle are sometimes triangular, whose base and sides are about an inch, sometimes they are circular, of the diameter of about three-quarters of an inch. Under the riddle, in the interior of the machine, a board inclined diagonally and backwards is fixed, leaving however a sufficient space at the lower edge of it for the passage of the stones, dirt and water; it is called by the miners an apron or screen; the object of it is to throw back the water that it may cover the whole bottom equally and run an even current. In the bottom board, about the centre of it, there is a hole an inch in diameter, made back and close to the first and second cleet, if there be but two of them, which is well stopped and opened only when it becomes necessary to take out the residue, dirt and gold, to separate the latter from the former by washing it in a tin pan, which should be of the size of milk pans used in the States. The tin pans are to be got at San Francisco at from three to four dollars, or in the mines at the trading posts for the double amount. The machines can be got at these posts by paying from two to four ounces; but it is so easily made that any one himself can make it and save the money. If put together by means of screws rather than nails, it could be taken apart and conveniently carried about when necessary. The machine requires also a piece of strong wood of from two to three feet long, to be firmly fixed to both sides across the box to be used as a handle for rocking. To work these machines, in some places, as on the banks of rivers, two persons only are required; while in dry diggings where water and gold dirt are not so conveniently situated, it requires three or four persons to do the same work; one to work the machine, another to dip and throw water on it, a third to carry dirt, and the fourth to dig it; or two to dig and carry, and two to wash dirt. However, according to circumstances these partnerships are formed, it can only be said that there is no occasion for more than four persons in a company, and frequently three or two do better than four. For protection and occasional service that one may require from another, it is always better to be in partnership with a suitable person or persons: in messing, for instance, it is better to have several in a mess for the sake of occupying the same tent, and having less cooking to do, as in such cases this is done by turns. The small machines have thus far been the best machines in use, and under the circumstances of pressing necessities of miners, in which they had their origin, nothing better or more convenient could have been got up; but they cannot be said to be the result of a scientific investigation and extensive experience. Recently, a very great improvement has been introduced into the method of washing placer gold. This improvement is the “Burke Rocker,” as improved by Jackson, and which is now generally used in Virginia for washing gold in similar deposites to those of California; it is there no longer an experiment as it has been used in those mines for thirty years past, after an examination of all the processes for washing gold both in Europe and America. This rocker has been found to be perfectly applicable to the soil here, as two of them have been in a successful operation on Mormon Island for some time past under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Jackson himself. It is destined to effect great changes in the process of washing gold in this country, and particularly when the miner that now works independently and alone will find his labor very hard and not paying him sufficiently, since this machine being worked with mercury, saves the most minute particles of gold that escape the eye, and thus gives in aggregate a greater result than can be sometimes obtained by washing large pieces alone. It requires five persons only to work one of these rockers; their great excellence can be summed up in a very few words: by the use of one about four times the quantity of earth may be washed by each man daily, and probably from two-fifths to three-fifths more gold is obtained from any given quantity washed. They will be doubtless ere long used with great success in going over the field already washed by the present imperfect method; as the bars and banks of rivers and the earth in “dry diggings,” for certain it is that the amount of fine gold dust inevitably lost by the smaller machines is greater than all that is saved ordinarily.

This machine is a simple trough about nine feet long with a bottom made of cast iron plates perforated throughout, the size of the holes increasing gradually as they descend towards the lower end; beneath these plates there are draws in which mercury is put; the dirt, as the machine keeps rocking slowly, is carried along the plates by the water thrown from above by a pump and washed down, gold together with finer particles of dirt descend into the draws to be amalgamated with mercury. The produce of such a washing is then put into a retort to separate the gold from the mercury. In the process of separation of the former from the latter, about two per cent. only of mercury is lost. These two kinds of machines are the only ones which we can recommend from our own observation; they are well adapted for these mines at least, and they can be easily procured here. Numerous inventions for this purpose were brought from the States, and none of them answered the sanguine expectations of their owners; they are not worth here even the cost of the materials they are made of.

The provisions used by the miners consist of mess pork, bacon, hams, jerked beef, flour, sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate, beans, rice and dried apples, fresh beef and mutton whenever they can get it, which is sometimes the case, and deer meat when they can kill it. As much as one can, for the sake of his health, he should abstain from using much salted provisions in the mines, and to counteract their bad effect on the system, it is advisable to use vegetable acids, like lemon juice, which in the mines is sold bottled up; citric acid, which is more easy to carry, or even tartaric acid, dried apples, and other dried fruit serve the same purpose. In using these acids it is better to use them with water alone without sugar; just making it acid enough to suit the individual taste. Dried apples made into apple sauce with sugar are agreeable to take, and are calculated to keep the bowels open, an important consideration for the miner. If one should be attacked with diarrhœa or dysentery of course he should abstain from them. One of the articles equally important as others we have not yet mentioned; we mean saleratus. In making camp bread it is necessary to use it to make the bread lighter. The prices at which provisions can be bought at present in San Francisco are the following:

Mess Pork, per bbl. $28.00
Bacon, per lb. 28
Hams, do. 35
Sausages, do. 40
Flour, per bbl. 12.00
Sugar, per lb. 15
Tea, do. 1.00
Coffee, do. 12 1-2
Chocolate, do. 40
Beans, per bu. 1.50
Rice, per lb. 10
Dried Apples, do. 25
Jerked Beef, do. 25
Lemon Juice, per bottle, 1,00
Salæratus, per lb. 1,00
Vinegar, per gal. 1,00

As the miner proceeds on his route and farther from San Francisco, he will find, as a general rule, that traders expect to make each a hundred per cent. profit upon the original price they paid. In this way it happens that in the remotest points of the mines he will have to pay three or even four hundred per cent. upon San Francisco prices. One of the chief reasons for this is the high charges for transportation of goods. However, competition has already effected some changes in these matters, and ere long may effect more. Notwithstanding these high prices, it may be sometimes more convenient for the miner to buy his provisions at the nearest point where he intends to work, or is working, than to carry them along with him all the way; here we cannot give him any advice as to what would be the best course; he must determine himself according to the circumstances he may be in, and the means he may command.

The last, although not of the least important articles for a miner, are arms. One need not be armed cap-a-pie in the mines, but a good rifle may be frequently useful to keep the evil minded at a respectable distance; or when in the woods, or far away in the mountains, an Indian may be in his way, or the grisly bear, and then a fire-arm may be sometimes necessary. Colt’s pistols are very convenient weapons. It is hardly necessary to say that he needs a few cooking utensils, with which he should be provided. A small hatchet may be equally necessary. In conclusion, we would say to the miner in one word, take no more with you than you absolutely need, that you may move lightly; as it may be sometimes necessary for you to go on foot. Thus equipped in all the necessaries, the miner will start on board of a lanch, where he has to pay from 14 to 16 dollars passage money, and if he have much baggage, from 2 to 3 dollars per hundred weight freight, bound to the city of Sacramento, or to Stockton, according to his fancy. He is to provide himself with provisions for the trip, which may last from three to seven or eight days. Taking the Mokelamy river as dividing the gold region into the northern and southern portion, the miner is to start accordingly--for the Sacramento city when he wishes to go northward, or for Stockton on the San Joaquin, if he go southward. It may be expected from us that we should give particular advice to the miner where it is best for him to go to dig. Now, it is impossible so to do conscienciously; the whole extent of the mining district is crowded with people, consequently for the very crowd, those spots that were good for a few, now are not so when there are many, as the subdivisions of the produce must be greater, and less must fall to the share of each. We may say in general terms, that farther south from the Touolomy to the San Joaquin, the diggers were not so numerous as elsewhere, consequently there is yet a better chance there than on other points. West of the Sacramento, some two hundred miles from the city of Sacramento, about the Trinity river, there are yet virgin ravines and streams, as very few have ventured so far.

On the Feather river and the Yuba, there were very good diggings; crowds of people, whites and Indians, have worked there for these two seasons; however, by going farther up these rivers some untouched spots may be found. We will remark here once for all, that the higher you go up the rivers the greater difficulties you will meet in getting over the ground, as they are more inaccessible; at the same time mules and horses are needed to carry you and your provisions, and you may also lack grass for your animals. But to know how far one may go up the rivers of the gold region, he must exercise his judgment, and he may depend on this fact, that there is no gold at the heads of these rivers, as we have examined them, and they all spring in the Sierra Nevada; as soon as you see the oak and red soil disappear from the hills surrounding them, you need not go beyond this line farther than from five to ten miles to convince yourself there is no gold there.

The Bear Creek was not very rich in the precious metal, and now may be less so as it has been worked. On these rivers people generally were making an ounce per day, some much more; but how long it may continue so we are not able to say. These rivers being accessible for a considerable distance to waggons, diggers crowded there, as provisions were cheaper there than anywhere else. These rivers have their forks, or in other words, tributaries of more or less importance. Below the mouth of these forks it is well to look for deposits of gold in the main streams. The Bear Creek has a tributary called the North Fork, in extent probably from forty to fifty miles. The Yuba has two forks on the north bank of some importance. The distance from the Bear Creek to the Yuba in some places hardly can be more than ten miles. The general course of the Bear Creek is West by North nearly; it meets the Feather river about ten miles below the Yuba, which likewise mingles its waters with the latter. The Feather river, which heads far at the North, taking almost a parallel course with the Sacramento, runs on in a South-Westerly direction, and having thus accumulated its waters is lost in the last mentioned majestic stream some distance below.

From the city of Sacramento, the miner has two routes before him, from which to select--he may start for the upper tributaries of the Sacramento, viz: for the town of Vernon, at the mouth of the Feather river, then up to the mouth of the Bear Creek, and farther up to the mouth of the Yuba, or to any of these points, direct from the city of Sacramento. Another route is for the American river, which has three tributaries, known as the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork. Waggons go up to the North Fork for seventy miles. The Middle Fork is inaccessible to waggons--it empties itself into the North Fork about ten or twelve miles above the South Fork, and the latter joins the former at the distance of about thirty miles from Sacramento City. At this junction there is on the South Fork an island called Notoma, or more commonly Mormon island, from the fact that a company of Mormons were the first to dig here. The diggings have proved very good; one could average an ounce per day. There is a company of miners who dammed or rather turned the current of the river for a short space, and now are reaping abundant fruits of their labor; they are getting out from $1500 to $2,000 per week, working with mercury in the Virginia rocker. It is a trading post, where many traders are established; a stage from Sacramento City stops here on its way to Sutter’s Mill. Going to the Middle Fork one must pass the South Fork at the point where is now quite a settlement, known as Sutter’s Mill or Columa, a corruption, probably, of _Columba_. The distance from Sacramento City to this town is 45 miles of tolerably good waggon road. There is no lack of traders; there is a Saw-Mill and a Post-Office. From this point the miner has to start with pack-animals if he wish to go up any of the rivers. The points known on the Middle Fork where a good many miners have been engaged are the Spanish Bar, higher up Ford’s or Middle Bar, farther up the Big Bar, and still farther up Rector’s Bar; the first 15 miles distant from Columa, and the last about thirty miles. The hills bordering on all the streams in the gold region are difficult of descent generally speaking, and they are so at these points also. In our opinion, the South Fork, is or was one of the richest portions of the gold region, its dry diggings proved very profitable to almost all the miners that have been engaged in them. Every river has its dry diggings, as it means washing in the ravines neighboring upon rivers, and which have small streams that are sufficient to afford water for washing gold. The dry diggings on the right bank of the South Fork, known as Kelsey’s Diggings, and on the left as the Old Dry Diggings were very rich. Last winter a good many Oregon people built log houses in both of those diggings, and passed the winter digging, when the weather permitted; the fruits of their labor were abundant, and most of them have left their places with bags full of the precious pelf.--Although they have done their work pretty thoroughly, yet there may be some places found that may pay. The South Fork has a tributary known as Weber’s Creek, on which a good deal of gold has been dug out; it has a small settlement of log houses in the neighborhood of the settlement just spoken of, on the left bank of the Fork. The distance from these trading posts to Sutter’s Mill is about twelve miles. There is a direct waggon road from Sacramento City to these diggings.

To go from Sacramento City to the Mokelamy, the miner has to pass the Consumnes at Dailor’s farm, about eighteen miles from the above place, and then farther south, the Dry Creek, from which the first trading post at the Mokelamy diggings may be about 30 miles distant. The Mokelamy diggings are distant from Sacramento City about from 50 to 60 miles--a waggon road leads to them. The Consumnes has not been dug much, but the Dry Creek had a very good reputation among the miners. The banks and dry diggings of the Mokelamy have been rich in gold, and may be so still; some diggers passed last winter there, and were not sorry for so doing. This summer there have been many digging, but their labors have been disturbed by hostile Indians. We think there may be yet rich diggings there.

Supposing our miner to have arrived at Stockton and he proposes to go to the Mokelamy, he would have to cross the Calaveras at the distance of about 15 miles, and strike the Mokelamy diggings 70 miles distant from the above mentioned town. If he should like to go South, he would find diggings on the Stanislaus, about 40 miles distant from Stockton; then he might pass on to those of the Touolomy, 20 miles distant from the latter, and farther on he would meet at the distance of 30 miles with those of the stream _La Merced_, then at the distance of about 20 miles he would come to the stream _Mariposa_. In a direct line from Stockton to the Mariposa it may be from 80 to 90 miles. Throughout the gold region waggon tracks and trails are well worn out at present; at convenient distances on the roads, there are trading posts established where can be had water and pasture for animals, and where one can stop. At Sacramento City or Stockton teamsters are to be found who know all those routes, and take up miners’ baggage to any place they like, if it be accessible to waggons. It would be impossible to describe the routes particularly, considering that they go mostly through an uninhabited country; the only sure way to learn the direction of the place one intends going to, is to enquire at the place he starts from. We can do here no more than give general directions on the subject. In the Southern portion of the mining district, Indians are somewhat numerous, and it is well to be on one’s guard, as they, if they do no other harm, are apt to steal your horses. There is a difficulty in keeping horses throughout the mining district, on account of the trouble of taking care of them, or of the danger of losing them, and which difficulty increases as the season advances, for then grass grows scanty. In the neighborhood of nearly all the diggings there are men who make it their business to take charge of miners’ animals, at the rate of from twenty to thirty dollars per month. Whatever may be the trouble of keeping a horse in the mines, yet it is a great convenience, as one is enabled to move about freely whenever he wants. The prices of horses and mules in the city of Sacramento and Stockton and throughout the mines, are fluctuating; they are according to season, demand and supply of the animals. In the commencement of the spring, when miners were starting for the hills, horses were selling at from two to three hundred dollars apiece; towards the fall, good horses could be got for one hundred and fifty, and mules from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars; however, next season we believe the animals will be cheaper than the last, as there has been a large number of them introduced by the immigrants from the States and from Mexico. The rate of transportation by waggons varies, of course, according to distances; but it ranges from twelve to twenty, and sometimes even thirty dollars per hundred weight. The season and quantity of teamsters regulate these matters somewhat. In hireing a man to drive a team, one must pay him from two to three hundred dollars per month, as every one expects that in whatever business he engages, his chances to make money should be as good as those of the miner, and that is the principal reason why wages of all kinds are so high in this country; but they are beginning to come down a little. Sometimes it is necessary to pay a man for his day’s work an ounce _per diem_.

Now, we will suppose an inexperienced miner is arrived at the place of his selection in the mining district; we will suppose him also to have started for the mines in company with one who has had already some experience in the handling of the pick-axe, shovel and pan; for he must have a week or so of apprenticeship in order to be _au fait_ with the practical part of the business.

On arriving at any spot containing gold deposites, the first step to be taken is to examine the general appearance of the country. The hills should be covered with brick-red soil--this should be a prevailing feature in them, although there may be now and then an exception to some portions of them; slate rock should be found, of whatever description, if not on the surface, at least on digging a few feet; but a general rule, when there is any below the surface, some of it will be seen above it in one direction or another. Likewise quartz should be found scattered about on the ground; quartz is a milk-white opaque stone, of considerable hardness; on these occasions it is generally veined with red streaks of more or less intensity of color. The presence of these three signs jointly is sufficient to authorize one to look for gold by digging in some convenient spot, but any of them singly is of no validity in this respect. And if by digging and washing the dirt one finds as a residue black scaly sand--which is magnetic iron, and which, if one were not able to distinguish by the eye, could prove it by the magnet--he can safely expect to find some gold there on some spot or other. The absence of this sand as a residue after washing, is a positive proof that it is vain to look for gold in that region. In digging for gold, besides studying the above mentioned signs, it is necessary to observe and study the currents of water, be it in ravines or dry diggings or along the banks of rivers. Water is perpetually changing its current, consequently before striking a spot with a pick-axe, it is well to consider whether the spot be an ancient bed of the river or brook, or not; whether there be any obstacle in the way of the current that would cause a deposite of gold to take place either before or behind it, for it is only in such places that we can expect to meet with success. Examine also the rock over which, at some season, water passes, and then by breaking it up you may discover a deposite of gold called, by miners, a pocket; such deposites are frequently found on ledges of slate rock in rivers or small streams. On opening a hole in search of gold, the top dirt is thrown away, and each successive layer of earth is examined to ascertain in which portion of it the gold is found, and thus the careful miner proceeds till he comes to the _rocky_ bottom; he never should be satisfied with his work till he does come to a rock, which he should nicely scrape, sweep and collect, then wash the dirt and decide accordingly; if the rock be slate rock, he should split it and break it up, and then wash it, as it is in the cracks and pockets of this rock that gold is frequently found in considerable pieces. A layer of clay, like a rock, equally serves as a barrier to gold; it arrests it on its surface. This work, particularly, should be done carefully when the miner is, as it is called technically, _prospecting_, when he looks for places where he would work, as in so doing he at once gets familiar with the character of the earth in that region, and will know in what portion of it he should look for gold. It is considered by the miners at present, that if from a panfull of dirt they are able to get a quantity of gold equal in value to fifty cents, they are satisfied with the result, and consider that they can make a little more than an ounce per day with a pan only. However, as the mines will be getting daily more and more worked out, they will have to be content with much less. But as yet, if they get only twelve and a half cents of gold from a pan of dirt, they do not think it is worth the trouble of getting it.

As a general rule, it is a practice among the miners to leave each digger a sufficient space for a hole, upon which nobody has a right to encroach; from four to ten feet they allow among themselves to be sufficient for each, according as they may be more or less numerous and as digging may be more or less rich. A tool left in the hole in which a miner is working, is a sign that it is not abandoned yet, and that nobody has a right to intrude there, and this regulation, which is adopted by silent consent of all, is generally complied with. It is very seldom that any disputes about one’s rights occur; and if they do, they are easily settled among themselves. In fact, as a general rule, miners heretofore have been law-abiding people; some excesses now and then may occur, but seldom of much importance, and if any of them should commit murder or theft, justice is no where so prompt and efficacious as among them. At different points of the mining district there have been persons executed for murder and robbery, by the stringent code of Judge Lynch, but under the superintendence of juries and judges selected for the occasion. At present, by order of the Governor of California, a sort of jurisdiction has been established at different mining points by elections held for the purpose; but as the mining population is constantly fluctuating, such arrangements cannot be permanent, of course.

The time for mining in dry diggings commences about the end of March and lasts till July, at which time water gets very scarce, and consequently digging becomes unprofitable, or even impossible. Some dig on the banks of rivers even in the spring when there is much water, but it is not a very profitable operation. The time when the rivers begin to fall by degrees is the month of June, and they continue falling till the next spring, when the melting snow again replenishes them; In August the snow from the mountains where they head, disappearing, they do not receive any new supplies, while the scorching sun keeps wasting them all the time, and in winter where it snows but does not rain they continue rather low; thus in winter time they are at their lowest ebb.--From the middle of September till the end of November is the best season for mining on the banks of rivers, as it is then that the lowest bars are uncovered, and even sometimes one may work in the very bed of the river itself. This is the time at which in many places, the current of a river may be turned aside with great facility. In so doing, miners should not rush blindly into the work without examining attending circumstances; dams have been made where there was not gold enough to pay one man’s day’s work. It is first necessary to see whether the hills in the neighborhood warrant the supposition that there must be gold in the river in that particular spot; then it is important to see where the current of the river would be most likely to make such a deposite; this being investigated properly, there will be a better chance for the company of miners to reap a plentiful harvest, should they determine upon the work.

The months of July, August and part of September are sickly in the mines, and particularly on the Feather river and the Yuba. The sickness is owing to the extreme heat and carelessness on the part of the miners; some of them work in the hottest hours of the day, and sometimes not protecting sufficiently their head and body from the scorching rays. Fevers, diarrhœa and dysentery are the complaints commonly met with--occasionally scurvy shows itself; it is more apt to happen in winter time. But, however, whenever it occurs, it is owing entirely to the carelessness of the patient; a sufficient attention to the use of vegetable acids, as we have already mentioned, would prevent such occurrences.